DOG SOLDIERS

Scotland. A group of British soldiers during an exercise discover the remains of a special forces team completely torn to pieces: only one has survived, although seriously injured, the unpleasant Sergeant Ryan. Shortly afterward, the platoon of soldiers is attacked by what they soon discover to be a pack of ravenous werewolves and will therefore be forced to take refuge, with the help of a girl, in an isolated farmhouse in the woods, unaware that it is the den of the same werewolves... Released quietly only for the home video market, this "Dog Soldiers" represents the perfect example of how a great horror movie can be made with few means. The intention of director Neil Marshall is clear: to direct a film about soldiers and werewolves (or if you prefer: a film about werewolves with the addition of soldiers!) in such a way that the suspension of disbelief does not go awry. Indeed, as difficult as it may be, the war genre and horror in this film are in perfect harmony, never descending into the ridiculous, often using the device of black humor to lighten some scenes. If from war cinema "Dog Soldiers" draws openly and extensively from the 1964 English film "Zulu" (incidentally, more than once cited by the film's own protagonists), in the horror genre Marshall pays homage to "Night of the Living Dead," "Aliens," and "Evil Dead," although the director himself is keen to point out that his main source of inspiration was "Saving Private Ryan": he states that his film resembles Spielberg's, but with werewolves instead of Germans. It is curious to note how in films that deal with this theme there are always clear references to the fairy-tale landscape (it had already happened with "The Howling" and "The Company of Wolves") and even in this "Dog Soldiers" is no exception: it revolves around the fairy tale of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" with the soldiers in place of Goldilocks who unwittingly enter the house of the werewolves and eat from their plates and sleep in their beds... The cast consists of a group of excellent actors (albeit little-known) at the service of a fresh script (by Marshall himself), rich in never-banal dialogues, and of a particularly careful construction of the characters (a rare thing in a low-budget horror production) that ranges from the protagonist Cooper (played by Kevin McKidd), a man with a morality far removed from military bigotry and kicked out of the special unit only because he refused to shoot a dog without reason; Ryan (played by Liam Cunningham), Cooper's nemesis and responsible for his expulsion from the special unit, as well as a wicked and selfish man who hides more than one secret related to the fate of the soldiers hunted by the wolves; Wells (an excellent Sean Pertwee) the other side of the coin of Ryan, who represents a clear paternal figure for Cooper. The whole thing is seasoned with excellent splatter scenes (Sergeant Wells with his intestines on display and Cooper trying to literally glue them back with Super Attack is an anthology!) and well-crafted makeup effects. The werewolves were made with completely artisanal methods (so no digital effects, thank goodness!) and have a look that harks back to Joe Dante's cult film "The Howling," but given the scarcity of the means available they are shown as little as possible and always in poor light conditions. In conclusion, "Dog Soldiers" is an excellent product that would certainly have deserved more attention from the Italian market: a fast and original film, well directed, well acted, and with splatter effects of excellent quality. Not to be missed!